Board games are once again on the rise and not just the ones from big-name companies that everyone knows about. People are getting unique games Kickstarted and turned into amazing experiences for a wide range of players, ages, or interests. Board game enthusiasts have a whole swath of new games to try out.
Unfortunately, board games are usually pretty pricey, so it’s worth looking around for the real diamonds in the rough. One of them might just turn into the family’s newest favorite or make for a great gift idea down the line.
10 Forbidden Island Is A Cooperative Treasure Hunt
Cooperative board games are gaining quite a bit of popularity as of late, especially in groups that aren’t all that competitive. Forbidden Island was thought up by Matt Lealock, who made the ever-popular Pandemic, and some of the gameplay shows it.
In Forbidden Island, there is a whole selection of double-sided cards that players can move across or shore up to prevent the island from sinking as they try to gather the four treasures. Each player gets a different job that gives them different perks, and things get more dangerous every time a Waters Rise card is drawn .
9 Obscurio Explores A Magical Library
Obscurio is a twist on regular board games while still being reminiscent of classics like Clue. There is a traitorous role as well as one person trying to point the rest of the group in the right direction with nothing but images to help.
The fun doesn’t stop there either. Sometimes players will have to see the images given to them through different filters or other events that can make or break things for the players. Obscurio‘s worth it for players who love a lot of critical thinking and sussing out clues with little to go off.
8 Palm Island Is A Quick Solo Game
Solitary games hit a new stride with lockdowns and more people shifting to working from home. Palm Island is a single-player game that doesn’t take long to play at all. Gameplay is relatively relaxing and focused on building a civilization on an island, managing resources, and making a personal little story. The best part is that Palm Island doesn’t even need desk space, as the whole point of the game is being able to play in one’s palm.
7 Merchants Cove Lets Players Go Their Own Way
Each player within Merchants Cove is a different merchant trying to make and sell their goods. There are different goals each player is trying to achieve, but they are still playing the same game. This also means that Mechants Cove has a ton of replayability, as players can shift around which merchant they are playing as. It’s also got some lovely expansions to give even more professions, from alchemists to travelers and many other things to discover.
6 Lowlands Brings A Lot Of Beloved Aspects Into One
Lowlands is a very cute little game reminiscent of popular titles such as Settlers of Catan and Wingspan. Players are trying to mind their sheep while also building a dike. The conditions for a win shift with the value of each, the sheep and the dike. Regardless of strategy, Lowlands is a pretty calm game all things considered with cute little pieces and some interesting mechanics. This is one of those games that’s a perfect trap for people who love being able to watch their progress or numbers go up tangibly. Lowlands also strongly benefits from players trying to communicate with one another.
5 Morels Is A Cute Mushroom Hunting Card Game
Morels is a cute card game all about hunting for mushrooms, which makes it perfect for people unable to go outside for a while. Players are trying to collect and cook up mushrooms during their turn, which in turn makes it a little bit of a resource management style game.
Morels is a game that can be played in tiny groups and doesn’t take long, so it is perfect for a good bit of winding down during the evening.
4 Photosynthesis Is An Educational & Relaxing Game
Board games come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and complexities with varying levels of realism. Photosynthesis is a board game with a heavy focus on real-world science and education about trees. Players need to place their trees in such a way that they gain more light, which is indicated by the sun that moves around the board.
These then will grow based on their light, which can easily be obstructed by someone else’s trees. Photosynthesis is relaxing with a group that takes games calmly, and deceptively competitive for those who love battling out for the win. Some players even take things up a notch by moving a real light source around to help cast real shadows, which gives a fun visual to the board.
3 Dragonrealm: A Game Of Goblins & Gold Is A Family-Friendly Fantasy
Dungeons and Dragons might be the king of tabletops, but that doesn’t mean everyone has the time, energy, or serious interest in playing something that can get pretty intense. Not to mention, some people have kids who they don’t want to introduce quite yet to the world of D&D. That’s where games such as Dragonrealm: A Game of Goblins & Gold comes into play. Dragonrealm is a cute dungeon crawler-style board game with beautiful cards to play with, loot to find, and goblins trying to take it. It’s an easy game to pick up and play with the family, including younger kids interested in the fantastical.
2 Above And Below Is A Fun Twist To A Village Builder
Village builders and life simulators have been a popular genre in the gaming world for quite some time. It took a while to start figuring out how to manage that in more of a board game setup, but once it started happening, board games started coming up with some unique ones. Above and Below is one such city builder that doesn’t just stop at the surface world.
Above and Below also involves managing resources and a world underground as part of the whole thing. Ignoring one-half of it can cause some serious detriments down the production chain while trying to go too fast can also cause issues. All in all, Above and Below is a fiddly game perfect for fans of village builders and resource management games.
1 Salt & Sail Is An Exploration & Discovery Game
There are a lot of games out there that want to toy with exploration, pirates, sailing, and the like. Salt & Sail is a recently Kickstarted game reminiscent of titles like Risk, Plunder, and the Catan expansion Pirates and Explorers. Players move around hex tiles that can be set up in unique ways every time for maximum replayability and try to become a famous explorer while upgrading their ship, hiring a crew, and avoiding pirates while they do so.
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